Wright demands flourish to finish

European place secure but Saints will not be easing off

St Johnstone’s Richard Foster has revealed that manager Tommy Wright is insisting no one at the club rests on their laurels despite securing European qualification at the weekend.

Saints knew before they played Partick at McDiarmid that a point would be enough to cement fourth spot in the Premiership.

They went on to take all three courtesy of a Danny Swanson penalty, but, while there was understandable pride at a job well done, Wright has demanded there will be no easing off ahead of St Johnstone’s remaining two games against Hearts and Rangers.

When asked what the manager had told the players in the dressing-room after the Thistle match, Foster replied: “He just said we are not taking the foot off the pedal and that he wants two more wins.

“That’s the standards he sets for us and we try to achieve them every week.

“We go into every game thinking if we play the way we can, defend the way we all can then we believe we have a chance of winning it.

“It will be no different in the next two but we will enjoy this victory and being back in Europe over the next couple of days.”

Foster has previously played in Europe for Aberdeen and Rangers against sides such as Valencia, Bayern Munich and PSV Eindhoven and he hopes to pass on some of his experience to team-mates at St Johnstone.

He said: “Europe is different. There is a different tempo and the style of play depending on which country the team’s from, it can be vastly different to Scotland. So hopefully, I can use the experience I’ve gained and pass that on to some of the younger ones.”